The Game Changer Read Online Free Page B

explain about the value of the programme, the more hostile he became. Saka had said, ‘Some people will never understand,’ and she certainly wasn’t going to allow John to upset her today.
    When she’d listened to the CD the previous night, it had explained how everyone was on the earth for specific reasons, and that the key to finding out those reasons was inside our minds, waiting to be discovered. She knew she had a lifetime of social conditioning to undo, the kind that made you put other people first. At the last sub-group session, Jessica had explained how we need to seek out the things that others feel are unacceptable. A couple of people had thought this was odd, but Sarah understood what Jessica meant. Plenty of beliefs, Sarah had told them, would have horrified people twenty years ago but were considered perfectly reasonable today. Saka had been there too, and he was proud of her when she’d said that. He didn’t say so, but she knew.
    Tying her hair in a long side plait, she told herself it was time to go downstairs. She was apprehensive, but she knew she had put off the moment for far too long. It was over half an hour since she’d heard the postman deliver the package. There were no guarantees it was the parcel she was waiting for, but a part of her felt that today would be the day.
    Seeing the cardboard box on the kitchen table, she let out a shriek of excitement noticing the foreign stamps. From the size, it couldn’tbe anything else, could it? Would John have noticed the postmark? Would he have wondered about the contents? She didn’t care: she needed to remain focused. Her hands were shaking, a mixture of joy and fear, but she did the breathing exercises Saka had suggested, all the while keeping her eyes on the parcel. ‘I want the moment to be perfect,’ she said out loud, looking around her to see if anyone else was listening.
    For the first time in months, Sarah smiled, thinking about the future. When she lifted the box, it was lighter than she’d imagined, and holding it up to her nose, all she could get was the smell of cardboard. She put it down, took a small knife out of the drawer and used it to rip the adhesive tape, careful not to damage the contents. Folding back all four sides at the top, she paused, wondering if she would be disappointed when she removed the white polystyrene packing beads. She dug her hands in deep, the beads falling like large snowflakes across the kitchen table and spilling on to the floor. She couldn’t wait any longer. It didn’t matter if she wasn’t as Sarah had imagined: once she saw her, she knew she would want to hold her, and love her. She felt a small arm, and again, she let out a tiny cry of joy. She concentrated on the breathing exercises again, telling herself not to rush things. Saka said our minds are amazing receptors of information, yet we miss so many things in our rush to get from point A to point B. She chided herself to take her time, closing her eyes tight as she dug in deeper, reaching for the baby doll, stroking her small arms, then her tiny fingers, touching all ten toes, until finally she lifted Lily out of the box. The baby’s blue eyes blinked at her, and in her heart, Sarah knew she had done the right thing.
    The Babygro was perfect too, soft white cotton, an exact replica of the one her daughter had worn in the hospital. Unable to restrain herself any longer, she pulled the doll close to her chest, snuggling her, stroking her face, her cheeks and her wisps of hair, which were exactly as Sarah remembered them. She was so beautiful, she thought. Lily was everything Sarah had hoped she would be. ‘Forgive Mummy,’ she whispered, ‘for waiting so long to find you.’

Kate
     
    IT HAD BEEN MORE THAN A WEEK SINCE MICHAEL O’Neill’s death, and although Kate knew she had nothing to do with the investigation, it had churned up the old memory of Kevin. Her mind kept drifting back to her early adolescence, a particular sentence repeating